Horticultural Luminaire for Vertical Farming

Vertical Farming (Pty) Ltd, a specialist in controlled environment growing systems, approached Pro Visual Technologies (Pty) Ltd (Pro Visual) to develop a custom horticultural luminaire for their Shipping Container Hydroponic Farms know as ‘GROCUBE’. A customer specific module was developed using the wide range of coloured Oslon SSL LEDs, some specifically designed for Horticultural use, to create an optimal spectrum for the cultivars grown in the GroCube.

The use of MCPCB further enhanced the thermal management of the product. By developing the product from component level up to a full luminaire we held full control over all the thermal management aspects. The result is a far superior lifespan in the African climate compared to other non-environment specific products. This product was developed in Africa, for the African climate, built to an international standard.

Vertical Farming (Pty)Ltd designed one of South Africa`s first hydroponics farms inside a shipping container. Making use of cutting edge technologies, the end result is a farm-in-a-box that can be put anywhere in the world to produce leafy greens and herbs. The GROCUBE can produce its own water and power, implementing atmospheric water generators and PhotoVoltaic Panels with batteries. Pro Visual is honoured to be the lighting technology partner selected to develop their custom horticultural luminaire. The GLX horticultural light, developed by Pro Visual, using OSRAM LED, is a technology highlight within the GROCUBE.

Working closely with the customer, and through a combined R&D effort, Pro Visual produced a wide spectrum LED luminaire capable of growing a variety of Leafy Greens and Herbs. Careful thermal management ensures the effective lifespan of the product is well beyond 5 years with a 16/24 hour cycle! The time from seedling to harvest was reduced by up to 10 days, depending on the crop grown. Growing crops at a faster rate to harvest, without compromising nutritional content, significantly increases profits making the luminaire a valuable component within the system. Pro Visual looks forward to further advances in this specialised field to continuously optimise it’s horticultural range.